The Auditor-General has written to the Speaker raising concerns about 17 municipalities that have failed to submit their annual financial statements.
The auditor-general, Tsakani Maluleke, urged the Speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, to refer the matter to the relevant portfolio committees in the national legislature.
In her letter to the speaker, published in parliament this week, the Auditor-General said the 17 municipalities were supposed to have submitted their annual financial statements to her by end of August in line with the law.
This would allow her to conduct an audit on the financial statements.
“The legislated due date for the submission of MFMA (Municipal Finance Management Act) annual financial statements to the auditor-general is 31 August annually. The AG must submit an audit report on those statements to the accounting officer of the municipality or municipal entity within three months of receipt of the statements.
“I would like to inform Parliament of the failure by the listed 17 auditees to submit the annual financial statements for auditing. Furthermore, I bring to your attention that Ditsobotla Local Municipality has failed to submit its annual financial statements for both the 2021-22 and 2022-23 financial years. I confirm that the provincial legislatures for the affected provinces have been notified in accordance with the MFMA,” said Maluleke.
The 17 municipalities that failed to submit their financial statements were Nala, Masilonyana, Mafube and Moqhaka local municipalities in the Free State, Tshwane in Gauteng, Makhado and Elias Motsoaledi in Limpopo, Kou-Kamma in the Eastern Cape and Swellendam and Kannaland in the Western Cape.
The other municipalities were Mamusa and Ditsobotla in the North West and Tsantsabane, Phokwane, Ubuntu, Kai !Garib and Kareerberg local municipalities in the Northern Cape.
She called on the speaker to refer to the portfolio committee.
“I kindly request that the Speaker refer the submission delays to the portfolio committees responsible for municipal oversight, to raise concerns about the delayed submission of annual financial statements, given the significance of the audit process to oversight and accountability,” said Maluleke.
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